Boro happy with financial situation despite £14m loss

NEIL BAUSOR insists Middlesbrough remain in safe hands despite posting a loss of £14m for the financial year ending June 2013.

The Championship club are aware that they need to have reduced that figure by a further £6m to avoid sanctions under Financial Fair Play rules.

But Boro chairman Steve Gibson continues to bankroll the club, meaning the startling £14m figure for a club struggling to return to the Premier League is effectively written off. It would, though, be the figure used under Financial Fair Play rules.

Financial Fair Play allows a club to lose up to £8m, so Middlesbrough still face a challenge to reduce that figure.

But Middlesbrough's chief executive, Bausor, is adamant the situation is manageable despite the reduction in income following relegation from the Premier League in 2009.

The accounts highlight there is no external debt and continues to be supported by Gibson's ownership group by more than £1m a month.

Bausor said: “Middlesbrough Football Club continues to hold the enviable position of being a club without any external debt and with a very stable ownership.

“Steve Gibson and the group continue to be fully committed to support our ambition to return to the Premier league.

"Balancing our ambition for the first team against a challenging environment of Financial Fair Play rules is not easy but we remain determined to use our financial resources to the maximum effect."

Nevertheless the latest set of accounts published show a loss for the year of £13.934m, which is a £4m increase on the previous results.

There was an operating loss of £22m but that was offset by transfer income of £3.7m and tax credits of £4.5m.

Middlesbrough's turnover saw a reduction to £14.21m from £18.5m, while TV broadcasting revenue fell from £7.42m to £4.22m. Despite lowering the wage bill, it remains one of the highest in the Championship at £18.5m.